Poetry, the Oil of Life

So I went on a small poetry binge after reading and loving and rereading The Princess Saves Herself in This One and Milk and Honey about three times each. I ended up ordering three more anthologies:

love&you by Gretchen Gomez @chicnerdreads
The Chaos of Longing by KY Robinson @kyrobinson
Rabbit Holes by Naiche Lizzette Parker @naichizzette

I follow Gretchen on Twitter, and i heard some buzz about chaos and Rabbit Holes was a rec so I went in super excited and waiting to be wowed.

I started off with The Chaos of Longing. Let me just tell you, this hits hard right off the bat. There is no sugar-coating or mincing of words, this is raw unbridled emotions jumping at you, just one page in. Sometimes poetry digs so deep inside the poet that you feel like you’re being intrusive, reading into their thought and emotions as you are. And I felt that reading this. Its a great collection. If you’re looking for a poetry anthology that has power, pick up Chaos.

poems to remember: blood diamond, beautiful stranger, elements ii, devotee

After Chaos, I picked up Rabbit Holes. God, I loved this one so much. It was so good. A lot of the poetry was personal but here was also those poems that were like small versions of my favorite mythologies and legends being retold in verse and I adored each one. It was actually very inspiring to me, as a writer. I wrote seven poems as soon as I put the books down. Seriously, if you like mythology and magic and poetry, pick up rabbit holes. Its like a spell being cast on you and taking you on a magical journey through Parker’s words. Also she is a Latina from the Bronx so REPRESENT.

poems to remember:  Arthur, Rosaline, Goddesses Love Goddesses, When Poetry Doesn’t Work

The last anthology I read was love&you. Gretchen is such a sweet-heart and her poetry is so lovely. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her anthology. Totally worth the wait. The anthology is concise in a way that it tells the story of one relationship. Gretchen shares the hurt and the healing that one goes through when loving someone is a toxic experience.  Its a very beautiful and candid collection.

poems to remember:

           

Overall, I give all anthologies 4 stars and a black cat each. I’m going to be buying second copies to giveaway as soon as my budget allows because these words need to spread like nutella on bread.

And to all the poets  who have shared their emotions, their struggles, and their lives with us readers: Your words are important to you and your sharing of them is important to you. I commend your bravery and your skill. It has truly been and honor to be a small part in your journey. Thank you.

It was a master of wordsmithery that i marveled

at

every

line.

until next time, happy reading!
bye brujas

(Also feel free to leave some more poetry recs in the comments)